Jacob Ogles
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz publicly questioned whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy achieved any results since Republicans recaptured the House.
The Fort Walton Beach Republican posted a litany of complaints on X about McCarthy’s first eight months wielding the gavel. Those included House Republicans’ failure to hold votes on term limits or a balanced budget amendment, two things agreed to in a deal reached with Freedom Caucus leaders as McCarthy whipped votes for Speaker.
“No vote on Term Limits. No vote on a balanced budget. No plan to have individual appropriations bills considered. No full release of J6 tapes. No spending cut to raise the Debt Limit,” Gaetz posted. “Trump has been charged with 91 counts. We haven’t even subpoenaed Hunter Biden – or any Biden for that matter.
“I know it is the tendency of political leaders to self-preen, but the truth is that while some GOP House work has made positive reforms — it isn’t good enough. Not even close, actually. We are going to have to seize the initiative and make some changes.”
Gaetz’s post referenced remarks published by McCarthy earlier in the day claiming massive changes to House operations. McCarthy said the sitting Republican-controlled Congress passed more bills than the Democratic Congress working with a Democratic President the two years prior to his ascension to Speaker. He also noted numerous procedural changes.
“We opened the House back up,” McCarthy said. “Members now have to come to work. Bills have to go through committee. You get 72 hours to read it, not just the members but the people, the American public themselves. The people’s House is back.”
He posted on X that the GOP majority “made this Congress more productive, more open, and more transparent than at any time in recent history.”
For the record, Gaetz’s list simplifies much of the first eight months in McCarthy’s tenure. The Speaker did release thousands of hours of security footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but gave it exclusively to Tucker Carlson, a Fox News pundit at the time who since was fired and launched his own show on X. While McCarthy has said the footage would be widely released, that hasn’t occurred.
Also, while Gaetz’s list of concerns asserts a debt deal reached between McCarthy and Democratic President Joe Biden included no spending cuts, the final deal included $136 billion in discretionary spending reductions, according to an analysis by The New York Times. That includes $21.4 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.
And while the House hasn’t brought in the President’s son, Hunter, for questioning of his international business deals, the House Oversight Committee, on which Gaetz said, has pursued a wide-ranging Biden Family Investigation. That includes scrutinizing whether Joe Biden personally benefited from deals during his time as Vice President.
Gaetz has been a long-time critic of McCarthy, and was the only Republican in Florida’s U.S. House delegation who would not support McCarthy’s bid for Speaker. It ultimately took 15 votes for McCarthy to secure a majority vote to become presiding officer, with Gaetz ultimately voting “present” to allow a lower threshold to reach a majority vote.
McCarthy secured the gavel only after negotiating with holdouts in the House Freedom Caucus. A high-priority demand at that time was reinstating a rule that allows any member of the majority to motion to vacate the chair, a procedure that would prompt a vote on whether to remove McCarthy as Speaker.
Gaetz told Florida Politics he’s not advocating for such a move— yet.
“Things have to change. I’m not forecasting that precise action right now,” Gaetz said of a vacate motion. “But the American people see House Republicans as ineffective and we need to be much stronger to give them hope.”
Gaetz isn’t the first Republican to demand McCarthy change gears or face consequences.
Rep. Dan Bishop, a South Carolina Republican, called in May for a motion to vacate after details of the debt deal were released. Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican, called such a vote “inevitable” around the same time.
15 comments
My Take
August 31, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Did Putin give Trump a tiny bit of polonium to put in McConnel’s coffee?
John Ubele
September 1, 2023 at 7:55 am
John Ubele: The filmmakers of the resistance front should show the world how Zionism benefitted from the Black Slave Trade
“…Ubele stated: The Zionists and the Israeli government, which is actually their base and center, do not want people to know anything about the truth of the Black Slave Trade, because if a decision were to be made in a world court, judgements would be issued against Israel and many powerful Jews around the world.
They would have to pay trillions of dollars and this is the greatest vulnerability of the Jews. Filmmakers can show the importance of this issue to the world by producing videos and films about the Black Slave Trade…”
Source:
https://tn.ai/2900815
Norma Wiese
September 2, 2023 at 4:45 pm
WTH DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MCcarthy’s performance, or
Gaetz;s for that matter—-where is your head at
tom palmer
August 31, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Another bunch of theatrics by some of the yahoos in the House; Gaetz is at the top of the list.
Maybe McCarthy simply does not want to waste the chamber’s time when there is real stuff to consider.
Rick Whitaker
August 31, 2023 at 8:55 pm
mc carthy does what trump wants. how does florida put up with matt gaetz? he is a big time loser.
Boaz
September 1, 2023 at 4:38 am
The voters in his Congressional district keep on re-electing him by significant margins. Then again, last election, Democratic voters in his Congressional district voted to nominate Rebekah Jones as his electoral opponent. That one was just too easy f for him.
George J
September 1, 2023 at 9:33 pm
FL1 would be blessed to have Rebekah Jones. An actual, decent human being.
Rick Whitaker
August 31, 2023 at 8:55 pm
mc carthy does what trump wants. how does florida put up with matt gaetz? he is a big time loser.
Earl Pitts "The Ronald's Un-Official Campaign Manager 2024/2028" American
August 31, 2023 at 8:51 pm
Good evening America,
The folks up in the Pensacola area like Geatz because they liked his daddy. But the fact remains thar Gaetz can only talk stuff. He cant actually do stuff because he was one of Jeffery Epstein’s clients. He’s got dirt on the leftys and thr leftys got dirt on Gaetz.
That is why we have all talk and no walk with Gaetz.
In case you were wondering. In case you did not already know.
EPA
Rick Whitaker
August 31, 2023 at 9:02 pm
what dirt does gaetz have on the “leftys” ? you sound like a garden variety conspiracy theorist. some call it mentally unstable. “earl pitts”, what a joke. that can’t be your real name. so ron desantis is your guy huh? what a loser. are you a fascist like desantis?
Rick Whitaker
August 31, 2023 at 9:07 pm
mccarthy, gaetz, how does the gop come up with such losers
Boaz
September 1, 2023 at 4:53 am
Neither one can reasonably be considered losers in the electoral sense, for they continue to be re-elected by their respective constituencies. You use the term fascist ineffectually. I have never seen it used so frequently and incoherently. At some point in the not-too-distant future, the terms fascist and fascism will lose all meaning. It would be tantamount to people on the political right calling their Democratic opponents Bolsheviks, etc., so frequently and carelessly that its use would become ineffective or even ridiculous. I for one openly laugh whenever I hear someone use it or misapply it. It’s interesting to see how quickly even such people as activists stop using it when subjected to the laughter of others.
Tropical
August 31, 2023 at 11:24 pm
Gaetz, you smarmy, worthless piece, why don’t you do anything to help our district?
How about working on getting rail service for the Gulf Coast?
No, too busy ‘sticking it to the Libs’ to do anything of value.
Wake up, NW Florida. Why do you keep electing this pile?
Sonja Fitch
September 1, 2023 at 4:37 am
Lol. Gaetz? Has been accused of sexual unwarranted advances. So let McCarthy call for an investigation of you. Gaetz! No one is above the law! How is that rushed marriage working out? Has the woman that married you figured out YOU ARE JUST USING HER! I betcha your actions and decisions have even disgusted your daddy! Get out Gaetz!
Boaz
September 1, 2023 at 4:57 am
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/02/15/rep-matt-gaetz-wont-be-criminally-charged-in-doj-sex-trafficking-probe-his-lawyer-says.html
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